Authoritarian Political System, Definition, Kinds and Characteristics

Mudabicara.com_ The authoritarian political system is one of the existing political systems in the world. This political system has the characteristics of a totalitarian political system .

Governments that use authoritarian political systems tend to limit people’s freedom. In addition, the media and press are controlled and all forms of news that come out must be in accordance with the government’s narrative.

Now! For more details, this time Mudabicara wants to review more deeply about the notion of an authoritarian political system, its definition, types and characteristics. For more, see the following reviews:

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Definition of an Authoritarian Political System

Etymologically the word authoritarian comes from the Latin auctoritas which means authority, power, influence, and authority. While in English the term authoritarian is authoritarian.

The word authoritarian itself if interpreted in the form of understanding is authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is a stance that holds on to power and authority that is coercive.

Power in an authoritarian political system is more imposing and arbitrary. On the other hand, all government control is in the hands of only one leader. Decisions or policies in this political system are not open and without public opinion polls.

This means that the decision is absolute, besides that the freedom of the community in issuing criticism and opinions is limited. Usually a leader who has an authoritarian style he always feels he understands everything and does not like all forms of criticism and opinions.

Moreover, in this system the media or the press do not have freedom. The media may issue news but positive news about the government.

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Almost all news in this system praises the government process, there are no criticisms and suggestions to be taken into consideration by the government’s second opinion in making policies.

Authoritarian is different from authoritative leadership style. If authoritative leadership works as a guide to direct his subordinates to achieve common goals.

It is different with the authoritarian style which uses an iron-fisted leadership style and does not tolerate the slightest error.

However, it should be underlined that not all authoritarian leadership is negative. Sometimes an organization and even a country requires this authoritarian leadership style. A confident person makes decisions quickly and believes all decisions are perfect.

In the history of world leadership, there are several leaders using this authoritarian political style and system, including Richard Nixon, Adolf Hitler, Kim Jong-un, Benito Mussolini, Suharto and Muamar Gaddafi.

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Characteristics of an Authoritarian Political System

Full Power On The Leader 

In an authoritarian political system power is fully held by the leader. Officials only become subordinates who do not have the freedom to express opinions and determine the direction of their own government.

They only play a role in connecting the leader’s decisions. This absolute power causes the leader to issue policies on the basis of his own ideas and thoughts. The result is clear, the policies that will emerge will look monotonous because of the lack of new ideas and ideas.

Decisions are Absolute

This decision is absolute, meaning that the leader’s decision cannot be contested. All decisions can change if a leader wants to change them. Even a follower who is a subordinate is not given the space to have an opinion, let alone make his own policy.

The dominance of this leader occurs in every decision and policy making. Even any procedures and regulations related to countries and organizations only he has the right to decide.

Dominant Leader

In the leadership process, the dominance of the leader does not necessarily mean negative. Sometimes this dominant leadership can succeed when the leader has good credibility and personal qualities.

But it would be nice if this leader’s dominance could be distributed in the form of orders to his subordinates. In addition to the regeneration process, this distribution can make everyone involved in decision making.

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The fact is that authoritarian leaders will always be dominant in both policy making and strategic decisions of the country.

Lack of Innovation and Creativity

When leaders do not want to accept criticism and opinions of others, saturation will arise in the government process. A subordinate does not feel motivated and challenged to create a better situation.

They carry out tasks not based on pleasure or happiness. But they carry out their duties with compulsion, anxiety and fear.

Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism

The lack of supervision and openness of an authoritarian political system often results in corruption, collusion and nepotism. Any form of publicly owned company feels private.

The power of a leader who can control everything makes state or organization assets monopolized to enrich themselves.

Results Oriented Leader

In absolute leadership a leader will not appreciate the process. They only need maximum results and do not tolerate the slightest error.

Usually, the authoritarian political system considers subordinates as incompetent and incompetent. If there was a good idea it would be a mere passing wind.

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Likes to Give Harsh Punishment

In an authoritarian political system all forms of criticism are disobedience, so it is not surprising that critics will be imprisoned at will, even to the point of murder.

In the context of Indonesia, you may still remember some of the violence and kidnapping of activists who fought for people’s rights. The authorities do not hesitate to imprison without a judicial process, even to kidnapping which leads to murder.

Violating Human Rights 

Freedom of assembly and organization is forbidden in this political system. In addition, leaders do not hesitate to do everything possible if their power is threatened.

The people are only as complementary variables for the success and perpetuation of the power and wealth of the leader.

Limited Political Stability

An example of limited political stability is Kim Jong-Un’s propaganda in North Korea. All media, both print and electronic, are used by Kim Jong-Un for imaging. The image he does aims to increase the loyalty of the citizens and maintain popularity.

Unlike Joseph Stalin, he used military force to control society as well as social control. The military in his day held complete control down to the level of public administration.

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The surefire ways of an authoritarian leader to perpetuate power include: Doing self-image through the media, Controlling the opposition, Managing the bureaucracy to the lowest level and finally controlling the military.

Weak Civil Society

An authoritarian leader will easily weaken the civil movement. For example, during the New Order era, no party could win the election except the Golkar party.

Civil liberties do not exist at all. The public is prohibited from forming political organizations and parties. All forms of community activity are controlled. Mobilize elections by utilizing the state civil apparatus.

So many young reviews talking about authoritarian political systems, hopefully they can be good reading material for all of my friends. Happy reading